NEWS: Our correspondents worldwide report

Brendan O'Malley

More than 150 internal members and doctors of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences have signed an open letter voicing concern about the “anti-democratic processes” that have taken place in the country and demanding that the body investigate or initiate debate about them.

Jan Petter Myklebust

The ambition for Horizon 2020 to raise international collaboration in its work programmes from 12% to 27% of the calls for proposals has not been reached and the share of non-European Union or European Economic Area partners in grant agreements for collaborative actions has halved in the first two years of the flagship European research programme.

Yojana Sharma

New measures to tighten up on the quality, financial viability and information provided by private higher education institutions in Singapore, including foreign branch campuses, that offer external degrees from foreign institutions – also known as transnational education or TNE – have been published by the Singapore government.

Wagdy Sawahel

The Morocco-based Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization launched the pilot phase of the 'TAFAHUM' project to enhance quality by promoting collaboration between a number of the Maghreb universities and the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie in France.

Brendan O'Malley

Universities should embed a zero-tolerance approach to sexual violence, harassment and hate crime, highlighting up-front the behaviours that are expected from all students, as well as ensuring staff understand the importance of fostering a zero-tolerance culture, according to a universities task force. But their report has been criticised for barely addressing staff-to-student harassment.

Maina Waruru

In what seems to be a growing trend in Kenya, public universities are actively seeking investments in a range of sectors including manufacturing, real estate and agriculture. The latest is Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, which has announced plans to open an instant noodle-making factory in partnership with a Japanese firm.

Maina Waruru

The African Virtual University, in partnership with the African Development Bank, has launched phase two of its multinational project aimed at expanding its network of centres of open, distance and e-learning and which will see 27 facilities opened in 21 countries.

Brendan O'Malley

A consortium has launched an open call for proposals for a bold initiative funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, or DFID, aimed at catalysing innovation and reform in higher education systems in developing countries, including fragile and conflict-affected states.

Jan Petter Myklebust

Thirty-five university rectors, including the rectors of the major universities – Lund, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Uppsala, Chalmers University of Technology and the Karolinska Institute – as well as the Swedish National Union of Students have criticised the government for a decision which sets aside the principle of autonomy for universities.

Mary Beth Marklein

An alliance of United States higher education, foreign policy, peace-building and national security leaders last week published an open letter urging America’s next president to pursue policies and practices that it said will make the United States "a more welcoming and globally engaged country".

Steve Kolowich, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Speaking to college students in Columbus, Ohio, Donald J Trump told conservative watchers of higher education that political correctness has transformed universities into places of extreme censorship and pledged to end it. But could any president keep that promise?

Michael Gardner

Austria’s MORE initiative, offering refugees support at the country’s universities, has been given a positive appraisal by Iraqi student Basma al-Robai in an interview with the university magazine UniStandard.

COMMENTARY

Natalia Shmatko

Russian PhD holders need to look to simultaneous academic mobility, whereby they work with international institutions but maintain links with their home country, if they want to increase their chances of career progression.

Anand Kulkarni

What do the rankings tell us about the progress of higher education in India and China? China seems to have a more even spread of quality institutions, but India needs to do more to spread excellence and be more outward looking.

Dean Hristov

University career services need to be reformed so they are relevant to a world where jobs are changing fast as a result of digital disruption.

TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERSHIP

Sharon Dell

The internationalisation of higher education is a key driver of innovation and is seen as indispensable for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals spearheaded by the United Nations. However, forging successful, equal and sustainable partnerships to realise these goals in the context of historical injustices and global structural inequality calls for a careful approach.

WORLD BLOG

Richard Holmes

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wants Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang to be a world-class institution. Here’s how to play the rankings game and succeed.

STUDENT VIEW

Casey O’Brien

Study abroad works better when students are properly prepared, do their reading and understand a little about the complexities of where they are going.

FEATURES

Tino Brömme and Barnaby Britten

Agreements such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the economies of the European Union and the United States pose "significant risks to public education... and could have the effect of locking in and intensifying the pressures of privatisation and commercialisation", European trade unionists warn.

Yojana Sharma

Whether or not it ever materialises, talk of building a wall separating Mexico and the United States has created a worrying atmosphere for higher education on both sides of the existing border fence – and student and faculty exchanges and any future prospects for Mexican-US joint degrees could be jeopardised.

Jason A Scorza

Academic leaders must take very seriously their moral obligations to posterity – factoring into their discussions and decisions the well-being of generations yet to come. It means taking an adaptive view toward the future by performing the valuable, rewarding but often hard, even grinding and unglamorous work needed to preserve and improve their institutions.

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WORLD ROUND-UP

A major Chinese education company has paid thousands of dollars in perks or cash to admissions officers at top United States universities to help students apply to American universities. And according to eight former employees of Shanghai-based Dipont Education Management Group, the company’s services didn’t end there, write Steve Stecklow, Renee Dudley, James Pomfret and Alexandra Harney for Reuters.

Jamaica's elected representatives, smarting from being snubbed by the University of the West Indies, now say that they will be pushing for necessary changes to ensure that the university, which this year alone is set to get funding that could cover two government ministries, is answerable to the parliament, writes Jovan Johnson for The Gleaner.

Government is not keen on allowing private universities on a full-blown scale‚ Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande has said. The minister told the fees commission sitting in Centurion‚ Tshwane‚ that private universities posed a serious threat to the public education sector, writes Sipho Mabena for Times Live.

The prime minister has assured public universities in the country worried about their finances that he has heard them loud and clear, write Zafira Anwar and Amin Mokhtar for New Straits Times.

The National Federation of University Teachers and some Argentine student centres, including the University of Buenos Aires, led a 48-hour strike on 13 October to demand higher wages and a higher budget, reports Prensa Latina.

Two efforts last week by students to eject protesters and reopen facilities at Michoacán University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo were unsuccessful, meaning that close to 24,000 students will continue to miss classes, reports Mexico News Daily.

A university dedicated to arts and science degrees will be built in Nay Pyi Taw, which will mean prospective bachelor degree students will be able to study closer to home, writes Pyae Thet Phyo for the Myanmar Times.

In an exclusive interview, Australia's first ambassador to China has raised the alarm about China's influence in the higher education sector, writes Hagar Cohen for Background Briefing.

John Swinney, Scotland’s education minister, has denied unfairly discriminating against the English after announcing that European Union students who win a place at Scottish universities next year will have their tuition funded by the taxpayer even after Brexit, writes Simon Johnson for The Telegraph.

The higher education gap between men and women has shrunk dramatically, according to a recent analysis by the Swiss statistics office, reports Le News.

The chair of the opposition Greens party, Ville Niinistö, has criticised recently announced plans by government to sell off state property in order to additionally fund universities and colleges of applied sciences, arguing that the government should instead withdraw its education budget cutting plans, reports Yle.

The United Kingdom is slipping as a preferred higher education destination for Indians amid fears of tighter immigration laws and Brexit impact, writes Varuni Khosla for the Economic Times.

Many students have decided not to pursue university education even after passing entrance exams, choosing vocational schools instead, reports VietNamNet Bridge.

Over the past year, many European universities have started up education programmes in response to the continent’s refugee crisis, as more students fleeing conflict in their countries have applied to study in European degree programmes and language courses, writes Patrick Costello for Al-Fanar.

Public universities may be forced to increase fees by KES8,000 (US$79) per annum to shake off financial constraints that have left them broke, writes Augustine Oduor for the Standard.

The Association of West African Universities has concluded arrangements to establish a research centre to produce internationally accepted herbal medicines, reports Channels Television. The association says the development is targeted at catering for the health needs of Africans.

To the surprise of many, the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has entered into agreements with the University of Dubai and the American University of Ras Al Khaimah to boost higher education in the country, reports AME Info.

We Are International, a campaign launched seven years ago by one university, is quickly becoming the unified messaged from the United Kingdom’s entire higher education sector in response to the European Union referendum result, writes Sara Custer for The PIE News.

Several Czech universities hung out Tibetan flags last week in reaction to an official statement on good Czech-Chinese relations that the country's four supreme constitutional officials issued after some politicians met the Dalai Lama last Tuesday, reports CTK.

The director of the School of Oriental and African Studies, or SOAS, has condemned a move by the Israeli government to detain a senior lecturer and ban him from entering the country for 10 years, write Rachael Pells and James Smith for the Independent.

UAE’s education minister has said the merger of three of the emirate’s top higher education institutions will help strengthen the country’s output of quality research and produce higher-calibre graduates, writes Roberta Pennington for The National.

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